Slowpoke Tails
by D3athrav3n92
Summary: Danté was a normal kid, with a mostly normal life. If it weren't for the ghostly girl that was intent on following him EVERYWHERE. "You're actually going to eat that?" "Why not? The guy said that Slowpoke Tails were a delicacy."


**I've been playing Pokemon Heartgold a lot recently, and I've had this idea in my head for quite a while. Hope you all enjoy!**

******Slowpoke Tails**

**_by D3athrav3n92_**

Danté Mancini was a normal boy, with a (mostly) normal family, and the stereotypical dream of most boys growing up in Jhoto: the dream of becoming an all-powerful Pokémon trainer.

However, once he turned twelve, things in his mostly normal life began to spiral downhill. His father, a member of the Police force, was killed in a Team Rocket attack. His mother, sick with grief and the new-found fear of losing her only other family member, forbade Danté from leaving the home on his Pokémon journey. He wasn't allowed to have Pokémon, because that would give him wild notions to leave home. And, to top it all off, they had moved from Olivine City to a little town by the name of New Bark.

So here he was, fifteen, with hardly any friends (not like he counted Lyra as a _friend_), and living a (mostly) sheltered life in a little tiny town next to an eccentric Pokémon researcher, Lyra, the old man selling groceries two streets down, and a few other, non-important people. Danté was going worried that he was going to die as an old fart without having done _anything _with his life.

But that was going to change. He was going to sneak out, in the dead of the night, meet the eccentric Pokémon researcher (also known as the tree, Elm), get a Pokémon, make like a tree (since we're still on tree analogies here), and leaf. And he was going to do it _tonight. He_ knew his dear old mom would agonize it over a few days, but he was determined. This was supposed to happen _three years ago_, and damned if he was going to let it out of his sights now.

He let out a loud snore, aware that his mother had peered into his bedroom to check on him. She did this every night. Checked on him about four times before she finally went to bed herself. He just needed to wait until one or so, and then he was going to pull his packed bag out of the closet, sneak downstairs, and make a break for the eccentric Pokémon researcher's lab, which was sure to be open, because Professor Elm was eccentric like that, just like his mom was a worrywart.

Danté was going crazy just pretending to be asleep and not doing anything else, but he knew he needed to _wait_. Without making a _single_ sound. Other than the occasional snore.

Finally, he heard the signs of his mother getting ready for bed, then the absolute silence that coated the house as his mother fell asleep. His eyes flicked over to the alarm clock on his bedside table; it read eleven-forty. He let out a frustrated breath. This was going to take _forever_.

* * *

><p>Danté was ready to tear his hair out by the time one arrived, his already short patience thinning as the time dragged by, and he practically jumped out of bed as soon as the clock struck one. He tread silently to his closet, pulled it open, and donned his travel gear, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He slid his sneakers on, pocketed the Pokégear he received that morning (he had stuffed the small package into the bushes before his mom could go through the mail), and silently crept down the stairs. Once downstairs, he darted to the door, opened it, and stepped out into the cool night air, breathing a sigh of relief as he <em>finally<em> made it outside. He quietly shut the door behind him, locked the key, and began strolling down the small road that led him to the only thing he thought was worth visiting in New Bark: Professor Elm's Lab.

He thought he was in the home clear once he got out of his house, but something bowled him over, and suppressing the urge to swear loudly, he sat up and seized the _thing_ that landed on him.

"What the hell?" he hissed, yanking a funnily-dressed Marill up by the strap of her bikini top. "What're you doing outside?"

"Danté? What're you doing out here?" Danté had to resist the urge to groan. Of _course_ Lyra would be outside. At one in the morning. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with this girl? Ever since he moved to New Bark, this girl had been following him, trying to catch his attention like a lost Rattata. It was pathetic. She always had all of these weird quirks and habits, like taking walks at one in the morning. Then there was her Marill. If a Pokémon could be a whore, it would be Lyra's Marill. She was always dressed in slutty clothes, and Danté always got a disturbing feeling that the stupid Marill was trying to feel him up every time she tackled him.

Danté shoved the Marill off of him (ignoring her squeak of protest) and got up. "Leaving," he said, and Lyra's brown eyes lit up. She clapped her hands in excitement.

"Like, as in running away? How _cool-_mmmmghph!" Danté quickly covered her mouth.

"Shut up!" he hissed, and her eyes widened. "Listen, I'm trying to leave _for good_. I don't want to get caught, so you can't tell _anyone_, got it?" He glared at her, and her eyes widened as realization struck, and she nodded furiously.

"Can I tell Marill?" she asked as soon as Danté took his hand off, and Danté ground his teeth.

"Sure," he grit out, and he turned around.

"Aren't you going to say bye?" Lyra called quietly.

"Bye," Danté shot carelessly over his shoulder, and Lyra nodded, satisfied.

"Bye," she replied, and she returned to her house. Danté rolled his eyes. Honestly, he couldn't _stand_ that girl. At least he got away from her.

He hurried to Professor Elm's lab, and was about to step in when he noticed a redheaded figure hovering near the window. He frowned. The lab did get a lot of visitors, so that kind of action wasn't uncommon, but at one in the morning? Really?

Danté stepped up behind him. "Visiting hours are from ten in the morning to five in the afternoon, y'know," he said, and watched, satisfied, as the redheaded guy jumped about a mile.

"W-what! I wasn't-" The guy snarled incoherently at Danté before shoving him away. "Get lost!"

Danté shrugged, and continued into the lab. This guy was probably some sort of obsessed nerd, probably intending to camp out in Professor Elm's backyard habitat in order to get licked by a Tauros or something.

"Professor Elm?" he called, stepping into the main laboratory, and scowled when he didn't hear a reply. The eccentric professor had promised he'd be up to give him his Pokémon, so where the hell was he? "Professor?"

He heard a light snore, and whirled around to see just the man he was looking for, sprawled out on a desk with stacks of papers around him. Danté figured he should let the man get his sleep, but he needed to get out of New Bark, and _soon…_

He stepped towards the good professor and leaned down so that his mouth was by the Professor's ear. He took a big breath, and…

"PROFESSOR ELM!" he bellowed, and grinned when the man jumped, falling out of his seat and scattering papers all over the desk and floor.

"Wha-who-?" Professor Elm looked about, his hair messy and his glasses askew, before his eyes fell on Danté. "Oh, is it time already? Goodness me, I must've fallen asleep…! No matter, no matter. You're here for the Pokémon?" The Professor got up and wiped his lab coat off as Danté nodded. "Very well. Just so you know, I refuse to be the one held responsible for your escapades. Nor am I taking any blame in your sudden disappearance.

Danté rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I plan on taking full blame. Oh, can you give this to mom when she comes in here to look for me?" He held out a little slip of paper with a phone number on it. "It's so she can call me, so she won't freak out _too_ much." Elm nodded, and pocketed the slip.

"Would you mind if I used this occasionally, then?" Elm asked, leading Danté to a table on the far side of the lab.

'_Yes_.' "Not really," Danté replied, inwardly groaning. He didn't want to have the stupid professor contacting him every few minutes about some stupid discovery. Elm beamed in reply, though, and set out three Pokéballs. Danté felt his heart speed up in excitement and anticipation.

"Very well. Here are the three Pokémon. Chikorita, Totodile, and Cyndaquil," Elm said proudly, releasing each Pokémon as he spoke. "You may choose one of them, and choose carefully."

Danté studied each one carefully. He liked the Totodile, with its reptilian appearance, and he didn't like the Chikorita. It looked too soft, too annoying. But as his eyes fell on the Cyndaquil, he felt something in him reach out.

"This one," he said resolutely, his dark blue eyes fixed on the fire Pokémon. "The Cyndaquil."

The other two looked a little disappointed, but they were quickly put back into their balls. "Good choice," Elm said, smiling. He handed Danté the Cyndaquil's ball and stepped back. "This Cyndaquil is a little shy guy, but I think you'll get along just fine." He pulled a Pokédex out of his pocket. "You know what this is, right?"

Danté grinned. "Sure do, Professor." He had been messing around with it a year before, and had accidentally recorded his name onto it.

Elm grinned in reply. "Then you're free to go. Take care, Danté."

Danté felt a rush of adrenaline run through him, and he beamed. "I will," he said, and he scooped up his new Pokémon, walking out of the lab. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't really want to go back into a stuffy ball, so this is staying right here." Danté clipped the ball to his belt, and began to run away from the town. "My name's Danté," he said to the Pokémon. "It's nice to meet you." The Cyndaquil squeaked affirmative, and Danté grinned, the wind flying through his bangs as he continued to run. "Can I call you Hades?"

The Cyndaquil chirped, seemingly smiling at him, and Danté beamed. "I'll take that as a yes." It was probably a little much to call such a small Pokémon 'Hades,' but it would throw other trainers off, and Danté _loved_ messing with people like that. It was just too fun for him to resist.

He continued running on when Hades squeaked. "Hmm?" Danté looked down. "What is it?"

Hades pointed at his legs, before pointing up at the moon. "Oh," Danté laughed, slowing down. "Well, um, I'm kind of running away from home. I was supposed to leave on a Pokémon journey _years_ ago, but mom stopped me, because dad had just died." Hades sniffed sympathetically. "Thanks. Anyways, I was feeling a little confined a rebellious lately, so I decided to run away, and become a trainer anyway. And so far, it's off to a good start. Mom doesn't suspect a thing." Danté looked around. They were the middle of the woods now, and Danté was starting to feel a little creeped out. "So…er-well, how about we travel on for a bit, and then stay at the nearest Poké Center?" he laughed nervously, glancing around. He caught a flash of red eyes in the shadows of some tree, and swallowed.

Hades seemed to see the eyes too, because he squeaked, jumped out of Danté's arms, and began to run down the path.

"Good idea," Danté mumbled nervously, hastily following. Something flashed in the corner of his eye, and he glanced around.

No one was there.

'_Weird_,' he mused internally, frowning. '_I could've sworn I saw a girl…'_ And with another shiver, he continued to run.

Silently, in the woods, a raven-haired girl appeared for another moment with a interested frown before quickly flickering out of sight again.

* * *

><p><strong>So the journey begins! I was orignally planning on starting it out with the <em>very<em> beginning of the game (namely, Professor Oak asking Danté if he was a boy or a girl), but I figured that might've been a little too much. And seriously, I swear that Marill's a whore. That stupid thing jumps me every ten minutes in the game, rubbing against my character. It's slighty creepy. I'm also suspecting that Lyra dresses it up as well in the game, because every time I see her, she's telling me that it looks good in a bikini or something.**

**Anyways, thanks all for reading, so please review!**


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